Attending an NBA game as a fan of the crosstown Atlanta Hawks in December 2015 — towards the tail end of perhaps the toughest season of his career — Matt Ryan was resoundingly booed by the hometown crowd.
The Atlanta Falcons quarterback had undoubtedly been one of the best players in his franchise’s 50-plus-year history in the eight seasons since replacing the disgraced Michael Vick, but the Atlanta faithful were frustrated. Ryan had yet to deliver a championship to the city and appeared unlikely to ever do so, with a third straight regular-season elimination imminent. The dissatisfaction was loud.
Atlanta, he heard you. Fast-forward 13 months and Ryan’s Falcons are going to the Super Bowl.
The quarterback was brilliant on Sunday, throwing for 392 yards and four touchdowns with another score rushing while completely out-classing the more-celebrated Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. The final score was impressive at 44-21, but it frankly was not that close.
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It has to be satisfying vindication for the nine-year veteran Ryan, whose latest performance had Atlanta fans not just regretting any past boos, but loudly chanting “MVP” for their quarterback. What a difference a year makes.
Ryan deserves it. Not only is he likely to be named the season MVP in a few days, but he is a four-time Pro Bowler, a first-team All-Pro, a past Rookie of the Year and the winner of three play-off games for a franchise historically bereft of them. He is a win away from delivering a thirsty city its first Super Bowl title. Ryan has been consistently excellent — if not spectacular or sexy — for nearly a decade, and will now play on the sport’s biggest stage to soak up some earned adoration.
The burden of replacing Vick — the most beloved athlete in Atlanta’s history before his stunning downfall — has been a hefty one for Ryan. He has responded by dutifully carrying the Falcons on his back while leading the franchise to an unprecedented run of success, with five trips to the play-offs in his nine years. Pre-Ryan, the Falcons had only eight such post-season berths since their 1966 inception.
But what Ryan’s CV lacked until Sunday was a trip to the Super Bowl. A win in two weeks would not only be a franchise first, but even more vindication for a player who no longer needs it.
Brady’s revenge train rolls on
Ryan’s counterpart in the Super Bowl will be a familiar one to the scene in Tom Brady, whose New England Patriots are on their way to an astounding seventh Super Bowl appearance under the quarterback.
A fifth championship would not only be an NFL-quarterback record for Brady — passing Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw — but a sweet capper to a season initially marred by a dubious four-game suspension for the overblown “Deflategate” caper that dreadfully dominated NFL headlines for what seemed like an eternity.
Brady’s surgical performance in Sunday’s 36-17 defeat of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC title game — 384 yards and three touchdowns — was an encapsulation of the work Brady, 39, put in all season. He returned from suspension in Week 5 to a Patriots team that went 3-1 without him and has played near-flawless football to go 13-1 since.
Brady will finish either second or third to Ryan — with Rodgers also in the mix — in the MVP voting, but the fact that he even made a case for the award in only 12 regular-season games speaks to his amazing year. He had 28 touchdowns and only two interceptions in those 12 games, with a 112.2 QB rating that was second in the league to Ryan’s 117.1. His two play-off wins since have been business as usual while leading a New England team expected to be here to its logical conclusion.
Unlike Ryan, Brady’s place in the all-time NFL pantheon is cemented. All accolades for him from this point are gravy, but another championship to end a season that could have potentially been a black mark on his career would be fitting revenge on commissioner Roger Goodell and a league that owes him more than such an unnecessary scandal.
Ryan and Brady have both earned the right to soak up Sunday’s success. No matter what else happens, this year’s Super Bowl-winning quarterback will be a deserving one.
kjeffers@thational.ae
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